Hearty and juicy aren’t words most people would say about a vegan dish that tries to mimic meat. However, well-cooked mushrooms can play a convincing role in dishes such as Philly cheesesteaks.

There have been times in the past where I asked my fiance if a piece of mushroom was actually meat, because the texture and structure of mushrooms can resemble chicken or even beef strips, especially when they are marinated and pressed between two slices of bread.

I love using my crock pot as it frees up my evenings. All I need to do is cook it overnight or during the day, and I come home to a healthy dinner with minimal dishes.

This dish is super easy, too, and dinner will be ready by the time you get home. Or make it overnight, put it in the fridge and reheat what you need. Pair it with a chilled salad or refreshing fruit while sitting by the pool.

I was wishing for zucchini again and lo and behold, I come back from a Labor Day vacation and I have three zucchini!

I know summer is kind of over, but I still want fresh produce and refreshing dishes to eat.

The Fitchen made zucchini pesto roll-ups, inspiring me to make similar ones with hummus. I got a 10-ounce Sabra classic hummus container for cheap last week and used that. I also have a bounty of orange cherry tomatoes aching to be used.

I didn’t roll it as neatly as The Kitchen recipe, but it was still delicious. I ate a few for lunch today.

All you really need for this recipe is a filler, cherry tomatoes, zucchini and toothpicks. I used my mandolin slicer to make the slices, placing it on the medium setting. That worked out the best.

When I was a little girl, I LOVED SpaghettiOs. A big bowl of SpaghettiOs brings back memories of days spent with the Nana and Pop, where I watched Disney Channel (we didn’t have it at home) and play Chinese checkers.

Being vegan, I don’t get SpaghettiOs that often anymore, unless I figure out a way to make them myself. Well, I did! Jamieson even liked the recipe, saying the dish tasted authentic. I adapted this recipe by Nikki at Seeded at the Table.

Which of you vegans are hankering for SpaghettiOs? I know I am!

I thought this dish was super easy to make, about 30 minutes or so. Make it for dinner and take leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I know your coworkers will be jealous of your homemade and healthier dish than the canned version of youth.

Homemade vegan SpaghettiOsServes 4 to 6

Ingredients:

8 ounces ditalini pasta (or other small pasta)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

15-ounce can tomato sauce

1 cup water

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

4 tablespoons Earth Balance

1/4 cup soy milk (or other nut milk)

1 cup shredded Daiya vegan cheddar cheese

Recipe:

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water, to al dente (about 10 minutes).

Drain and place pasta back into large pot.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic powder and red pepper flakes and cook until just fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in the tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, salt, pepper, sugar and vegan butter. Heat, while stirring, until the butter is melted.

Slowly stir in the soy milk, then turn the heat to low. Simmer at low heat for 10 minutes.

Stir the shredded vegan cheese into the soup until melted.

Pour as much of the tomato sauce into the pasta as desired; stir to combine. You will have a little left over, which can be pour on individual servings if eater desires.

I have been on a Hispanic/Mexican kick in my kitchen lately. I whip up nachos, queso, burritos and other spicy dishes regularly now.

Jamieson (aka Batman) bought me guacamole from Aldi’s recently. (I now LOVE guacamole. Where have you been all my life?!?) On the back of the carton was a recipe for guacamole empanadas. The recipe, as usual, was not vegan-friendly in the least, with 1 pound of ground beef or chicken included in the list of ingredients.

Well, guys and gals, it is Vegan MoFo, so I made vegan guacamole empanadas! Mine aren’t that pretty to look at, but delicious to eat. You can sub the tofu for your favorite mock meat or even beans. Just make sure they are drained properly and are kind of mushy, as it is easier to spread on the dough.

I meant to have a contest and I got really excited, but then the gifts didn’t pan out, then I got disappointed, and then I got busy.

I found my wedding dress and have been helping my bridesmaids find theirs. I have been working my butt off with freelance work, in order to save more for the wedding, and I started going to a chiropractor three times a week for my horrible back issues.

To kick it off, I am giving you this quick vegan orange creamsicle recipe, which are dreamy to eat, low on calories and don’t use additional sweeteners. It is a bit tart and a bit sweet, everything a good ice pop should be.

Strawberry season has filtered out, and now it is time for blueberries!

It also is time for Wonder Vegan to go on a diet, and so that meant it was a baking bonanza at my apartment.

One of these items was blueberry pie.

I didn’t think blueberry pie was a Maine thing; I figured seafood would be a bigger contender. Visiting Maine, the state’s tourism website, has a recipe.

According to Wikipedia, the earlier settlers ate it and using wild Maine blueberries truly makes the dish. It IS the state dessert for Maine after all!

While I didn’t have wild Maine blueberries, I used Dynise Balcavage‘s recipe for blueberry pie with a slight modification in her filling: ginger. I once before baked Balcavage’s recipe when I was taste-testing for “Celebrate Vegan.” I wanted to put a summer twist on it, and everyone at the CSA agreed that it was delicious. They said they never thought to add ginger and it was a bit of spunk that fit well.